That Holiday Spirit Thing
by Imaginationqueen87
Summary: I guess you could say I'm having trouble summerizing this, it's mayhem and fun as the SPD's b squad gets ready for the holidays. better than it sounds pls. r&r parrings Jackxoc & CrugerxKat
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own PRSPD, nor do I claim to.

A/n: in this au SPD fic, Kat was married before the destruction of her home planet, and the memories haunt her because she had lost her husband and an unborn child, more on that to come in another fic.

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**That Holiday Spirit Thing**

The first of December hit the S.P.D Earth Station like any other day, well, almost any other day. Most of the personnel that called that base home observed some holiday during that month, weather it be the majority holiday, Christmas… or Bridge's minority, Hanukah… there was always something to get ready for.

The rangers felt the spirit of the holiday fill the base and knew that this year would be special.

Commander Anubis "Doggie" Cruger and Dr. Katherine "Kat" Manx were both seeing changes in the rangers, in particular, Sydney Drew, the typically cheerful young woman was getting ready for the holiday full force and finding out all she could about the Jewish tradition of Hanukah so as not to leave Bridge Carson out of the holiday celebrations.

Syd was groaning that particular evening after finding out from Schuyler "Sky" Tate that candles for a Hanukah menorah were simply out of the question… too much of a fire hazard.

"Shoot!" she muttered as she walked into Kat's lab "Looks like my plan to help Bridge celebrate Hanukah is out of the question"

That line earned her a rather perplexed look from Kat.

"Syd, I thought you didn't care about Jewish traditions" Kat said rather surprised to hear the pink ranger complaining that another religion's traditions couldn't be observed

"Bridge is one of my friends, he deserves to be able follow his own traditions" Syd replied "it is the season of giving after all!"

Kat's expression changed from one of surprise to one of understanding, even Sydney had picked up the holiday spirit.

"I'll see what can be done" Kat replied

Sydney left Kat's lab and got ready to do some Christmas shopping, this holiday was her favorite excuse for shopping.

She had bought for a lot of the rangers, but she couldn't think of anything to buy for Kat, she couldn't think of anything that Kat needed or wanted so she went back to base lacking a present for Kat.

"What should I buy Kat for Christmas?" Syd asked no one in particular as she walked into the rec. room.

"Maybe you could give her something to wear" Bridge said

"I remember she was complaining about her lab getting rather cold, maybe you could get her something to resolve that situation" Sky suggested

"Yeah, but what?"

"Now that's up to you" Z said "you know Kat as well as we do… maybe even better than some of us"

"I rarely see her wearing any jewelry" Syd said

"With her job I'm not surprised" Z said "she's working with her hands so much that rings or bracelets are kind of awkward."

"Yes, and I don't think she owns any necklaces" Syd said

"She does" Commander Cruger said "but most of them bring back bad memories of how she lost everything when her planet was conquered."

"Oh" the team said in unison and exchanged mournful glances

"What about her watch, she hasn't worn it in quite a while" Z pointed out

"She caught it on something and broke it, she tried to get it fixed, but the jeweler that she went to said it was better off thrown away" Cruger replied "it was made on her home planet and given to her by her husband on their anniversary, that is the only reason it didn't actually get thrown away" he pulled the rather expensive looking watch from his uniform pocket, the band of which showed signs of being tugged rather hard and broken off the watch face, "she left it on her desk after she found out it couldn't be repaired and I picked it up thinking you rangers might be able to find someone who could fix it and get it working again"

Sydney took the watch from the commander's hand and inspected the damage.

"I know a jeweler who would be more than happy to fix this" Syd said "and he would be able to get it working like brand new"

"Could you do that for her?" the commander asked

"Yes sir" she replied

Sydney left to take it to her friend to see if he could repair the damage to Kat's watch.

Meanwhile Kat was looking for that very same watch.

"Now, I know I left it here" she sighed in frustration she had found a new battery for it, so she could at least get it working halfway decently.

Commander Cruger walked into the lab just like any other day, but in the back of his mind he felt guilty for stealing Kat's watch, but it was for a good reason, and she would get it back later.

"Maybe one of the cadets picked it up" he suggested giving her the notion that one of those on cleaning duty might have thought that it was garbage, or that someone might have accidentally left it there.

Syd smiled as she got into the jeweler's shop.

"Hi, Sydney, what can I do for you?" the elderly man asked kindly

"I've got an old watch here I was hoping you could fix up for me" she smiled

"You just bought a brand new watch from me Sydney…"

"It isn't mine, it belongs to my friend, Dr. Kat Manx… her late husband gave it to her years ago but it broke, and doesn't work like it should, I was hoping you could fix it" she pulled Kat's old watch from her jacket pocket.

"The jeweler that she took it to called the old thing garbage" Syd said

"This wasn't made on Earth was it?" the jeweler asked taking the watch from Syd's hand and giving it a visual once over.

"No it wasn't" Syd said "Why?"

"These alien time pieces are harder to repair than those from Earth, but I can do it easily"

"Oh, that's great, she'll love it"

"I'll even polish it up for her free of charge" he smiled warmly "when it leaves my hands it will work and look just like it did when it was given to her"

"That's great, thank you"

Syd started to leave but turned back to her old friend

"Why did that other jeweler not want to repair that watch?"

"Because it wasn't created on Earth and he could tell it, and he obviously didn't have the equipment, or just didn't want to put forth the effort to fix your friend's prized watch" he replied "in other words, he had no heart and no respect for customer service" his voice dropped in pitch and volume "and he was a regular Scrooge!"

Syd laughed slightly at that last bit

"Thank you" Syd smiled

"I should have it fixed tomorrow"

"I'll check back with you then"

Syd left the jeweler's with a new resound to find something to buy Kat for Christmas since she decided it was best to let Commander Cruger give Kat the newly repaired watch, since he had said that he had wanted it repaired for Kat to begin with.

She returned to base and contacted Commander Cruger.

"Could he fix that watch?" Cruger asked quietly

"Not only will he fix it, he will restore it to new condition for her"

"Great work, Cadet" Cruger smiled slightly "Kat will appreciate this more than you realize"

"With as valuable as that watch is to Kat, I think I do know how much she will"

Meanwhile:

The Jeweler turned the watch over so he was looking at the inside of the watch and found an engraving on there that warmed his heart.

"My beloved Kat, I never thought that one day you would give me half of what you already have, and I hope that one day, I can give you just as much…"

The old jeweler knew that it must have broken her heart to lose the person that put such love into such simple words.

"Ah, so this is why it is so valuable to Dr. Manx, it is a promissory gift that signified a turning point in her relation ship, that loss must have been painful… the least I can do is make sure this watch makes it back into her hands looking just as beautiful as it did then" he smiled and got to work seeing this piece as having more meaning than the other piece he had to work on, and knowing this one would take more time.

Meanwhile, a certain evil individual planed on playing the role of Scrooge and trying to ruin this Christmas for Dr. Manx and the rest of S.P.D.

_To Be Continued…_

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_A/n:First holiday themed pr fic, second SPD fic, pls pls go easy on me for any ooc-ness 


	2. Chapter 2

Kat sighed as she looked through her lab one more time to try and find her watch, and finally gave up after practically tearing her lab apart… her watch had been stolen.

"_The_ one most valuable piece of jewelry I own has been stolen" she sighed jadedly as she sat at her computer… she had no idea that her friend Doggie Cruger had taken her watch to get it repaired, or more like… restored and felt really guilty about it.

The next day came and Sydney went to pick up the watch to find what looked like a brand new watch waiting for her there.

"Are you sure this is the same watch I brought you?" she asked

"Yes it is, it had a carving on the back that I'm sure you weren't aware of…" the jeweler turned the watch over and showed Sydney the inscription that was so lovingly placed on the back.

"Her husband must have been rather romantic" he said "otherwise, those simple words wouldn't mean so much to her… I can tell, this has been polished quite nicely"

"I'm sure she will love to get her watch back, she doesn't know that it is being repaired"

"So you took it behind her back, not the most responsible move if you want to keep a friend"

"I didn't take it, so I won't get in trouble, Commander Cruger will"

"Oh, he took it" the jeweler paused, "may I ask, about how long have they known each other?"

"I'd say about twenty years" Syd replied "I'm not sure, though, he's from Sirius and she's a Felina… I'm really not sure"

"Oh, she's Felina, there very scientific minded individuals, no wonder this one was such a big challenge" he laughed warmly, "take this to the Commander, so Dr. Manx doesn't kill him"

"She doesn't know that he has it at all, and besides, he saved her life, I doubt she'll kill him, I doubt she'd be able" Syd paused "not to mention, she isn't the violent sort, but she might tell him off"

"He's got some defense" the jeweler went on to his other tasks but managed to wish Syd a merry Christmas before she left.

Sydney left with the watch in a nice gift box and arrived at the command center just as Kat was leaving to pick up a few items, little did even Commander Cruger know she had planned a bit of Christmas shopping of her own, although it wasn't one of her favorite tasks... she preferred being in her lab working to this any day. She had a small list and a tight budget to work with and considered ditching the whole deal.

'Let's see, Sky shouldn't be too difficult, Z, get her a new book and she's happy, until she finishes it… that is' Kat thought going through her list in her head 'I don't know Jack well enough to get him much, Bridge…' her thoughts were interrupted by someone running into her, hard, from her right side… she landed, roughly, on her left wrist.

"Stop, thief!" a woman exclaimed

Kat got up instantly and grabbed the guy's arm with her right, her left hurt too badly.

"Hold it" she said as Z Delgado approached they both saw the purse in the man's hand, not only that, but he had Kat's handbag as well.

"I don't believe either of those bags belong to you" Z said angrily

He dropped the bags and tried to wrench free from Kat's grasp.

"The more you fight me the stronger my grip gets" Kat said, sounding surprisingly like her long time friend, Commander Anubis Cruger.

"Fine…" the boy said and quit fighting Kat "I give… I give" Kat released her grip and Z apprehended him.

"Kat, are you okay?" Z asked

"I landed on my wrist" Kat replied.

The other woman approached and picked up her purse from the ground along with Kat's handbag.

"Thank you, ma'am" she said and handed the other bag to Kat.

"It was no trouble" Kat smiled as much as her condition allowed her to, she was in pain from her wrist and Z read it in her friend's face.

"Kat, you must've hurt that wrist when you hit the floor."

"I think I did too" Kat replied… there went her shopping trip, not that she particularly minded losing the shopping time. She figured she'd get Jack a gift card so he could get himself something that he either needed or wanted.

Z took the criminal into confinement and then took Kat to the infirmary to have her wrist checked out by Felix

He whistled slightly at the sight of the x-rays of Kat's wrist

"You defiantly won't be working for a while… Kat" he said "that fall left you with a fracture in that wrist"

Kat gave and annoyed sigh, maybe shopping wasn't her thing after all… but who ever heard of a woman who didn't like to shop, well, they must not have known Kat Manx too well.

Commander Cruger was a little more than annoyed when he heard that Kat had a _broken_ wrist. She was his best friend, and he didn't like the idea that she suffered that sort of injury because someone decided to steal a woman's purse, and nearly got robbed, herself.

Cruger turned to see Sydney standing in the doorway to the Command Center.

"Sir, I have Kat's watch" she said

"Good, Cadet… may I see it"

Syd brought the watch over to Commander Cruger.

He opened the box to find that the watch looked like it had when he first met her.

"Ah, he restored it perfectly"

"Really, sir?"

"Yes, Cadet, this was exactly how this item looked when I met Dr. Manx"

"And, if I may ask, sir, how long ago was that?"

"Twenty years ago" he replied sadly "those were difficult times for us both… I had lost my wife, and she'd lost her husband and an unborn child… and I guess our circumstances forged our bond"

"That is understandable, sir, you both shared some of the same grief and must have felt that you could confide in each other what those around you wouldn't understand."

"To be honest, Cadet, we barely understood each other" the commander laughed "she didn't speak English, and I didn't understand her language… our friendship is one that almost never was."

Syd smiled it was just a bit more for them to be thankful for.

"If I'm not mistaken, Kat still has family around the galaxy somewhere, I managed to track down her niece and sister on KO-35, and have extended an invitation for them to come to Earth for the holidays"

"Did they accept?"

"Yes, her niece is a power ranger, and her team will be coming to help you out" Commander Cruger paused "her sister rejected the idea of leaving, but the news about Kat's injured wrist might change her sister's mind"

"Kat got hurt?" Syd said in shock

"Yes, unfortunately, Kat suffered a fractured wrist during her recent outing"

"Ouch, I hope she'll be okay."

"She'll be fine, Cadet"

After Sydney left Commander Cruger contacted Kat's sister, Sarah.

"Doggie, if you contacted me to ask me to come to Earth, you can forget it, Katy will come, but I won't"

"I figure you'll change your mind when you hear that you sister got hurt just earlier today" Commander Cruger said

"If this is a lie, Doggie Cruger, I swear I will make you regret it"

"I wouldn't lie about Kat, she has been my friend for years, she is like family"

It was safe to say that Sarah and Commander Cruger never really saw eye to eye, she had always thought that Cruger had taken advantage of her elder sister in her time of need, and Kat could never seem to convince her that Commander Cruger had actually helped her recover from the loss of her husband and baby.

"Sarah, I know you don't like me, but I would like it if we could try to at least tolerate each other"

Sarah said nothing but just glared daggers at Cruger, she couldn't believe the nerve of him. Then her oldest daughter walked in looking quite sour.

"Katy, what happened" Sarah asked sweetly

"Grumm happened" Katy said angrily, she didn't look as catlike as her mother and aunt did due to genetic mutations that occurred after Grumm destroyed their home planet, her ears looked human, and her fangs were less obvious.

Commander Cruger knew that Katy scored higher on Sarah's priority list than he did, so he was more than willing to wait. Then Sarah cut their conversation by cutting the satellite link.

Cruger growled slightly at Sarah's rudeness… although he should have expected it by that time.

"Mom, was that Commander Cruger?" Katy asked

"Yes, that was him" Sarah replied "that intolerable old dog!"

"Mom!" Katy said in shock "he's Aunt Kat's best friend, the least you could do is give him a chance"

"He took advantage of my sister, when will you get that through your head"

"When you get it through yours that not every Sirian is as bad as the one you met" Katy stomped off into her room in fury, Grumm had made her mad, now her motherhad her livid.

'Mom talks about Commander Cruger, when she is no better than he is' Katy thought, 'she won't give him a chance due to an old stereotype that is far too old to be of any thought to today's standards' she punched her pillow then laid down angrily 'I want to know Commander Cruger because Aunt Kat seems to care so much about him, and she is the one person in this family I relate to the best'

_To Be Continued…

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pls. leave a review, and note that all flames will be either used to heat tea or redirected at scientist who use slight probabilities(sp?) to scare the hell out of the general population. 


	3. Chapter 3

Katy entered their lounge quietly celebrating; she was going to get to meet the person she's wanted to meet since she heard of him… Commander Anubis "Doggie" Cruger.

"I can't believe we're going to have to take orders from Cruger" Alexander said in irritation.

"Come on guys, I hear Cruger's a great Commander" Christina countered eagerly

"Yeah Chris" Katy said "he's a good friend of my Aunt Kat"

"Wait a second, you have a relative at SPD Earth station, that you didn't tell us about?" David said

"Yes, David"

Christina smiled happily, she knew about Kat Manx; enough to know that her judgment could be trusted.

"Katy, you are sure that Commander Cruger knows what he's doing" Michael asked

"Yes, Mike, I know" Katy said in exasperation

"SF squad B, report to docking bay two" their commander called over the intercom. (A/n: "SF" stands for special forces, they have gone through specialized training for search and rescue along with handling hazardous materials… along with SWAT, different lab technician, different looking armor)

"Here we go" Michael said

They arrived to see their commander waiting patiently for them.

"Cadets, I am sure you don't appreciate having to leave this station… okay, most of you don't" he corrected himself as he noticed the keen excitement in Katy's eyes. "some of you have reasons to look forward to this trip" he chuckled at this "so I won't hold your red ranger from her family members any longer than I must… Cruger is expecting a top team, and I hope you show him nothing less than your best behavior"

"And he will get nothing less, sir" Katy said honestly, hiding her excitement well.

"Okay, dismissed!" the rangers boarded the craft and within minutes were on their way.

"Ah, Earth here we come" Christina said in a relaxed tone

"I haven't seen Aunt Kat in years, I wonder how she's changed" Katy said reflecting on how her aunt used to look

Meanwhile: Kat had no idea that she should be looking forward to a visit from her niece because it had been the collective idea of the SF squad and Commander Cruger to make Katy's arrival a surprise since Kat, seemingly, doesn't have much coming for Christmas.

The shuttle arrived as scheduled and Commander Cruger was waiting along with his B squad cadets.

Katy led her team out of the shuttle, excitement was written across her face as she hit the ground at almost a run. Cruger found this amusing that she was one of the few actually excited by coming to the Earth Station.

"Welcome, to SPD Earth Station" he said as they lined up and saluted to him, "at ease…" their poses changed as he continued "my rangers will show you to your rooms… Katy, Bridge will show you to Kat's lab, remember that Kat isn't expecting you to be here, so her reaction could be anything"

"I know sir" Katy smiled "the element of surprise is what I'm counting on"

He chuckled "You defiantly are different from you're aunt" he collected himself "dismissed"

Each SF squad ranger went with a B squad ranger Bridge approached Katy and they started towards Kat's Lab

"So you are Kat's niece…" he mused

"Yes, why?"

"I just expected her niece to be, well, more like her"

"Yeah, a lot of people do, and are stunned to find that I hold few similarities to her" at that point, she seemed quite calm, but Bridge knew she was excited

"So, she doesn't know you're coming"

"No, she doesn't… I wanted to surprise her" Katy smiled "I'm counting on a big reaction from her"

"Yeah, and you won't be disappointed" Bridge laughed

"I figured I wouldn't" Katy laughed

"Here's her lab, this is where I'll leave you, I'm sure one of the rangers would be willing to show you to your room"

"Thanks, Bridge"

"No problem"

Kat was working on her computer silently when Katy entered the room.

"Whoa, this is some nice equipment"

"Katy?" Kat looked up in surprise "When did you get to Earth?"

"About five minutes ago"

Kat smiled and left her work to greet her niece.

"It has been too long since I've seen you" Katy smiled

Bridge hadn't left the doorway.

"What is it, Bridge?"

"Nothing, Kat, I'll be on my way"

Kat shook her head as Bridge walked away.

"Don't worry about him…"

"I'm not, but really, does he need to be committed?"

"Sometimes I wonder..." Kat sighed "about him... and you"

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"Why didn't you have any one tell me you were coming?"

"The look on your face when you heard my voice was the entire reason"

Kat smiled and saved her work, she and her niece had a lot of catching up to do, but just as they started they found that an intruder had followed Katy into Kat's lab.

_To Be Continued…

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pls leave a review and note that all flames will be either used to heat cocoa or redirected at the strange intruder, whom you'll find out about in chapt 4 


	4. Chapter 4

"Broodwing… what do you want?" Kat demanded

"What do I want… to get rid of SPD, I think I will start with the technician…" he attacked for Kat and she began to fight back, then Katy stepped in, ready to fight. Kat backed up towards the back door to her lab and pressed the emergency call button which sent a distress signal to the command center, and reached Doggie Cruger within a few seconds.

Commander Cruger growled and headed for Kat's lab in a silent rush, that signal meant only one thing, Dr. Katherine Manx was in danger. The sheer thought made him angry, the sound of her in pain pushed him to the point of outraged… far further than was suggested! He got in to find Katy morphed and Kat was the one under full assault, and she couldn't fight back which pissed him off to the point of morphing without question.

"SPD! EMERGENCY!... SHADOW RANGER!"

Broodwing turned to see a very angry, Commander Cruger, standing there, Shadow saber drawn, ready to kill him.

"Some other time, Cruger!" Broodwing said, then a puff of smoke marked his exit.

"Kat!" Cruger exclaimed and demorphed. He was concerned about her because she was already injured to begin with.

"Aunt Kat," Katy said and knelt, demorphed, at Kat's side, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine Katy" Kat replied

Commander Cruger didn't believe her that much, she looked to be in absolute agony… there was a crack down the cast on her hand and that made his blood boil, Broodwing had gone after Kat's, already injured, wrist.

"Kat, you shouldn't lie to your family" Commander Cruger said

"I'm not lying Doggie, I'm fine" she insisted, futilely, he saw the crack in her cast, he knew that her wrist had to be throbbing with pain, but Kat was one to tough out pain… to a certain point, and it was about to get to the point where she wouldn't be able to keep from showing it to her niece and him.

A whimper of pain escaped Kat, and Commander Cruger knew that the pain had become too overpowering for her. He knelt at her side and suggested she went back to the infirmary so Felix could redo the cast and give her something for the pain she was in at that moment.

"Commander Cruger…" Katy said after Kat left

"Yes Cadet?" Cruger said softly

"What happened to Aunt Kat's wrist, sir?"

"She was knocked down onto it during an outing she was on, I believe the guy also fell on her"

"Oh, thank you sir" Katy sounded concerned

"Don't be concerned about your aunt, Katy, she's tough, I've seen her go through things that would drive any other woman to psychosis, but she has been scarcely effected by it"

"Because, sir, she has had good friends, who have been by her side through thick and thin" Katy replied "she has had all the support she's ever needed to keep her sanity in check"

Cruger smiled, Katy was more like Kat than she had, at first, appeared; that line had sounded like something Kat would have said.

"You remember how you told Bridge you held little similarity to Kat…"

"Yes sir"

"You are more like her than you think you are… you are like the Kat I met years ago, when she still held onto a bit more of her true, willful, nature… she has dropped quite a bit of that from her normal nature, but get her to work and you can't stop her until she is finished."

Katy smiled, that did sound a lot like her and how she was at that point in her life.

"Katy…" Commander Cruger started

"Yes sir" Katy replied

"Let me tell you a story about your aunt" he said

"Okay"

"When I first met Kat, she was nearly dead, I figured she wouldn't survive to leave her planet, but something in her gave her the will to fight, to want to live… I knew there was no way she could survive, but someone had forgot to tell her she was dying, I could tell by looking she had been through a hard fought battle and deserved a chance to live, or at least deserved a peaceful death, but that would have gotten me into trouble, we had been told strictly that the 'the death of two is not worth the peace of a third'" he paused "then, before she 'died' she gave me a small vile of a serum that was a cure to the poisoning, and that saved her life"

Katy smiled, she knew her aunt was tough, she didn't know how tough, until then.

Felix was furious to see the crack down the cast on Kat's wrist.

"Katherine Manx, you should know not to fight with a broken wrist!"

"It wasn't as if I had much of a choice… Broodwing was attacking me and had me trapped in my lab"

"Oh, this was the work of Broodwing, not your fault" he used a local anesthetic to dull the pain of removing the cast and placing a new one on her wrist.

Kat stayed in the infirmary until the anesthetic wore off and was given something for the resounding pain and left to rest in her own living quarters.

"Commander Cruger" Jack said as he got into the Command Center "have you seen Kat?"

"She is resting right now, she was attacked by Broodwing…"

_To Be Continued…

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**Fyi: Broodwing is the "Scrooge" I spoke of in chapter one

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Pls. leave a review and note that all flames will be redirected at Broodwing or used to heat cocoa whichever I choose


	5. Chapter 5

"She was _attacked_ by Broodwing!" Z echoed in shock when Jack told her about what happened

"This defiantly hasn't been her day" Syd said, "at least I was able to get her watch restored"

Commander Cruger was busy arguing with Katy's mother trying to convince her that it wasn't his fault that Kat got hurt twice.

"Sarah, listen, I tried my best to help your sister!" Cruger exclaimed in anger

Sarah looked in shock as Kat walked in, a new cast on her wrist and the look in her eyes told of her general annoyance and anger.

"Sarah, now you listen to me and you listen good… I know you have hated Doggie Cruger since I introduced him to you and told you he was my friend, you had some bad times that I'm not going to deny, but its time you got down off your high horse and realized you may perhaps be wrong!" Kat was furious "I've had one horrible day today, my watch got stolen yesterday, and I injured my wrist twice today and was attacked by Broodwing"

Cruger looked over the events of the day and realized that she was having a bad day, bad enough to trim her, typically, long fuse down to be only as long as his if not shorter.

The explosion by her older sister left Sarah thunderstruck, Commander Cruger couldn't come up with much to say either, he had known Dr.KatherineManx for twenty years and he had never heard her that irritated before. She approached him and looked Sarah square in the eye.

"I know what you heard when we were young, I heard it too, but Sarah, I would not be standing here today if it wasn't for Commander Cruger, I would have died that day twenty years ago if it weren't for him"

Sarah's expression changed from one of anger to one of shock.

"You mean to tell me…"

"That Commander Cruger saved my life… yes that is exactly what I mean to say"

Commander Cruger left the room, his hear filling with shame, he had betrayed her and still she stood up for him. Then again, she had no clue what he'd done, not yet, anyway... but he'd find out her reaction when she found out what he had done in three more days.

"Kat, I wanted to say that I'm sorry for acting like such a snob, I should have given Commander Cruger half the chance Katy has. She could do nothing but talk about wanting to meet him since she found out she was going to Earth" Sarah smiled "I think I should listen to you… I'm on my way to Earth, okay… Merry Christmas"

"Merry Christmas to you too, Sarah" Kat smiled slightly turned the screen off and went to work getting ready for her sister's arrival, it took her a few seconds to realize that Commander Cruger had silently excused himself from the room.

"Doggie" she said rather loudly to try and see if he was nearby, he wasn't. Somewhere inside she felt nervous, he usually never left her alone without announcing his exit by saying good-bye, but not this time, he just slipped right on out the door. She left to try and find him then decided to let him do as he liked she'd confront him when she saw him again.

The next day Kat and Syd went shopping at the mall when one of the security guards stopped Kat.

"Ma'am, we can't thank you enough for stopping that thief," he said

"It was no problem really" Kat replied, "he wanted to take my purse too" she smiled

"I still feel like I need to thank you, you did get hurt by him" the security guard said, "he nearly took someone else's money, you didn't have to stop him"

"Yes, I did… it is what I would have wanted her to do if the roles were reversed" Kat replied

"It's refreshing to know that some people still live by the golden rule"

"I always have… and don't plan on changing my ways any time in the near future" Kat smiled as the girls left, then she realized that the guard had slipped a gift card in her pocket good for any store in the mall.

"Look at this" she said "he slipped this in my pocket… he insisted on rewarding me for what I did"

"He didn't..." a woman said "I did… he nearly took all of my shopping money, I just felt like I had to thank you for fighting your pain and stopping him, when anyone else would be downed by the pain"

"I just did what I would have done for anyone… I am an SPD employee, I feel like it is part of my job to stop criminals, even though I'm not an officer"

"You work for the SPD, but you aren't a police officer... then what do you do?"

"I develop technology to make the officers' job easier" Kat replied

After that little conversation Kat and Syd went back to their shopping.

"So, Kat who are you shopping for right now?" Syd asked

"Sky, Jack, Commander Cruger, Katyand Z" she replied "I have a little more time for Bridge's gift because I won't give him his gift until the first day of Hanukah"

"That sounds like a good plan to me… have you got any ideas," Syd asked

"I have a few, but I have no ideas about Jack's gift"

"I don't know much about Jack, but I do know about Z" Syd smiled

"I've got some ideas for Z… Jack is the only one I'm confused about"

"You might ask Z for some suggestions, she knows Jack better than any of us"

"Your right… I'll ask her"

Kat and Syd went their separate ways and somehow Kat ended up looking at watches, she then noticed one that she knew Commander Cruger would like

'If I don't find anything else for Doggie, I'll get him that' she thought to herself then decided she would go ahead and make that her first purchase of her trip, she used the gift card to buy the gift. Then met back up with Sydney, who had also made a purchase.

"So who did you buy for?"

"Commander Cruger" Kat replied simply.

"Oh, so you found what you wanted to get him"

"Yes, I did" Kat smiled

"I found something I'm sure Z will love" Syd lied skillfully, that was actually a gift for Kat, but she wasn't about to reveal that little secret, or what was purchased.

By the end of the day Kat had finished her shopping and with Christmas just around the corner, she was glad that part of the deal was over, but there was one little problem. Kat stopped Syd as the started out.

"I forgot something," she said

"What is it?"

"Katy's birthday is five days after Christmas"

"Oh, shoot… I had no idea" Syd said, "I have to get her something"

"Yes, and I'm broke"

"Why don't I buy it and we say it's from both of us, we can pick it out together, you do know her better than I do"

"Sounds good to me" Kat smiled and they headed back into the mall. One last thing and this day would be over… they were both looking forward to getting off their feet, when Syd's communicator started going off.

"Great, looks like we're going to have to by Katy's birthday present another time" Kat said

"Yes it does" Syd replied then answered the communicator to find that the city was under attack so they had to leave. Syd took Kat back to mobile command and then went to join her teammates in combat.

Kat walked into her lab and saw Boom playing around.

"Boom!" she exclaimed

He stopped dead and looked over at her.

"Yes?"

"Stop that, you're going to hurt yourself!" she scolded

"Okay" he stopped and left the lab as she went inside and went to her living quarters. She entered that particular room and opened her jewelry box and went through the contents and pulled out a few pictures of her and Commander Cruger just after they arrived on Earth. They had both lost a lot and were close because of it. She closed the jewelry box and went to finish preparations for her sister's arrival, she didn't know how stormy niece's relationship had become with her sister, but it was about to become all to apparent as Sarah arrived and demanded to know where Katy was.

"She went to protect the city" Kat replied simply "she is a power ranger after all that is her duty"

"Her duty, she should be in a job that is less dangerous!"

"Don't insult your own daughter like that!" Kat was furious, maybe she had been better off with her sister still on KO-35 where they didn't have to agree on anything due to the lack of communication between them. "All Katy has wanted is for you to be proud of her, she told me herself that you never seemed pleased that she became the leader of her team!"

"Because I didn't want her to, a girl shouldn't lead a team of power rangers…"

"Is there a problem in here, ladies?" Commander Cruger asked as he walked in on the argument between Kat and her little sister.

"No, Doggie, there isn't… not anymore" Kat replied in frustration and returned to her lab.

"What happened, Sarah?" Cruger asked

"What makes you think I'm going to tell you" Sarah said furiously and then started to go after her older sister.

"That isn't a good idea Sarah" Commander Cruger said "your sister isn't in a very good mood, I don't recommend you push her temper any further"

The rangers returned and Katy was mortified to find that her mother had come to Earth and knew that all hell would break loose as soon as her mother said anything to Kat about her not wanting Katy to be a power ranger, much less the red ranger. Katy had no idea that she was a little late for that party.

_To Be Continued…

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pls leave a review, and note that all flames will be redirected at Broodwing or used to heat tea whichever I chose 


	6. Chapter 6

Katy went into her aunt's lab to see her looking quite enraged about something.

"What's wrong, Aunt Kat?" Katy asked

"Your mother!" Kat replied, "I love her to death… but she gets on my last good nerve"

"You think she gets on your nerves… try having to live with her" Katy laughed

"These days, I'd go insane" Kat replied "and I've been putting up with Doggie Cruger for over twenty years"

"Should I try and talk to her?" Katy asked

"Don't try, you are part of her problem, and I don't want you to think you have to change because of her," Kat said

"What is her problem with me?"

"She doesn't think that a girl should hold the position of red ranger, she says it's too dangerous"

Katy hissed slightly

"My thoughts exactly" Kat said "but there isn't much we can do, she is your mother after all"

"And do you know how much I hate being reminded of that fact?"

"I don't blame you, Katy… you have had to put up with her for most of your life"

"Yes I have… I wish I could get transferred her so I could get my mother out of my hair!"

"You don't mean that"

"Oh, don't I? Aunt Kat, you have no idea… she's horrible!"

"Okay, I guess you have a right to be fed up with her… she was one of the main reasons I didn't want to work at that academy… she works there, and besides I was needed more here"

Katy smiled as she watched her aunt trying to work, but found herself hindered by the cast on her left hand.

"Why don't you let Sophie handle that?" Katy asked

"Good question… why aren't you letting me take care of your duties until your wrist heals?" Sophie asked after stepping inside and hearing Katy ask

"Be my guest" Kat smiled and put her hands up then stood and walked over to the other side of her computer, where Katy stood

"Why don't we go and talk?" Katy asked

"Sounds good to me" Kat smiled as they left the lab and went to the rec. room where cadets of all levels were playing video games, watching TV or just kicking back with a good book (or the SPD handbook cough-Sky-cough).

Kat had to smile; it would be like Sky to be reading a book he had virtually memorized from cover to cover in both directions. They walked over to the windows to look outside, then a clap of thunder caused Kat to jump and Katy to bust out laughing.

"Very funny, Katy!" Kat said

"I've never seen you jump that high before, Aunt Kat" Katy said trying to calm herself down.

Kat shook her head at her niece

Sarah was furious and soon returned to KO-35 not wanting another dispute with her sister to ruin her daughter's Christmas, not realizing that her daughter wouldn't return to KO 35 at all she was fed up as was the rest of the squad and had applied for transfer to Earth Station and Cruger willingly accepted the stronger team onto his base.

Christmas Eve came all to quickly and both teams of rangers were scrambling to get the decorations complete.

Katy was hanging some things high on the wall when the ladder began to lean precariously and she found herself falling.

Jack caught her before she hit the ground.

"Hey, Jack, thanks" she said in embarrassment

"No problem" he smiled and set her on her feet

"How has your Christmas been?" she started back up the ladder to continue decorating the rec. room

"Good… to be honest this is the first time I've ever celebrated Christmas, or any holiday for that matter", Jack sighed

"Really, I guess this is really new to you" she smiled "you really don't have to do that" she said after noticing he had decided to help out by keeping the ladder steady while she worked

"Hey, I don't want you to fall again" he said

"Okay, I'm finished" she got down and felt super awkward when she found herself looking him straight in the eye. "Um… excuse me, Jack," she said

"Oh, sure go ahead, sorry," he said after realizing he was in her way.

Z set up the Christmas tree and Katy looked over to the corner where Sky was. He had consulted with the SPD handbook and a few resources and found out that he'd overreacted about the Hanukah tradition of the menorah and found it would be perfectly safe as long as flammable objects were kept at a safe distance from the candles. He had Bridge over with him setting up a menorah and he gave his most sincere apology about his little oversight in the handbook that in religious practice, small, taper candles were perfectly within regulations.

"… The eight candles represent the eight days that the lantern oil lasted…" Bridge explained as he got the candles ready, it wasn't Hanukah yet, but it was good to be ready.

Katy smiled and then went to get presents to put under the Christmas tree.

"I can't believe Sky is _helping_ Bridge set up the menorah this year" Katy mused

"I'm not," Kat said from nearby "he is typically helpful, especially when he realizes he's wrong."

"Oh, okay… I'm just trying to get these guys," Katy sighed

"I've known most of them for years, and I still don't get some of them." Kat laughed

Meanwhile Jack found himself unable to keep from watching Katy as she placed the gifts under the tree.

"Jack, what's up, bro?" Z asked

"Nothing, I'm fine" Jack replied

"Jack… heads up!" Syd said as she dropped a large decoration from her position near the top of the ladder.

"Whoa!" Jack shifted just in time to avoid getting knocked unconscious.

"Sorry!" Syd said

"It's okay, just be more careful next time!" Jack replied

"You got it!"

"Thanks"

Katy had looked up as Syd called 'heads up!' and saw the events take place.

'Whew, I'm glad he's okay' she thought 'Whoa, where did that come from, I barely know him!' Katy wondered 'but he's so considerate, and not exactly ugly either!'

She continued to argue with herself for several moments while she put presents under the Christmas tree for the rangers, Cruger and Kat for their Christmas party the next day.

"My first white Christmas…" she mused as she saw the snow outside the window

"Did you just say that this is your _first_ white Christmas?" Syd asked

"Yes, it never snowed where I live, even when I lived on Earth it didn't snow… I lived too close to the Equator to ever see more than half an inch to an inch of snow" Katy laughed "hardly a white Christmas!"

"Nope, that's true" Syd replied

Katy and Syd kept talking about past Christmases in their homes as Jack watched intently, he had to admit it, he liked Katy, a lot… she seemed to be a very nice person, and, to him at least, she was beautiful.

"Hey Jack, are you going to help us, or just stand there and stare at Kat's niece all day" Sky asked

"Hum… oh, I thought you were getting a lesson on Hanukah from Bridge…" Jack replied

"And I thought you were hanging the mistletoe!" Sky said "Just remember, staring is rude" Sky popped Jack on the arm slightly "Go talk to her, it's obvious you have a crush on her!"

"No, I do not have a crush on her, what gives you that impression?" Jack said defensively

"Let's see, the way you've been staring at her the last half hour, the defensive tone in your voice… you like her, a lot…just admit it… that'll make it a lot easier."

Jack didn't have a response for that one, it was true, he liked Katy, he just didn't know how to approach her and confess it.

He went to hanging the mistletoe in hopes Sky would drop the topic of Kat's niece, Katy, but Jack wouldn't end up that privileged.

Z walked up as Sky was trying to push Jack into telling Katy how he felt.

"Sky, you're wasting your breath, you do know that right…" Z said, "You're not going to sway him, it's going to have to be up to him to tell her how he feels… if what you're saying is true"

After that Sky gave up, momentarily, Jack would have to admit to his feelings eventually, but when said feelings came out was completely up to Jack.

Sky walked away as Jack used the ladder to put up the mistletoe.

'Whew, thank you Z' Jack thought 'I'm glad I was able to find that thing she wanted for Christmas this year, because I now owe her big time!'

Jack's eyes rested on Katy once again and it hit him, he had to tell her that he liked her; otherwise he was never going to do it. He walked up to where Katy was setting the last of the presents under the tree.

"Katy, I need to talk to you" he said awkwardly.

_To Be Continued…

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Pls. leave a review and note that all flames will be redirected at the nearest hurricane!


	7. Chapter 7

"What is it, Jack?" Katy asked

"Do you need some help?"

"Yeah, Jack, could you go get some of the heavier boxes and bring them over here?"

"Sure, no problem"

"Thanks"

Katy watched as Jack brought a couple larger boxes over to the tree and set them close to the back of the tree.

"Jack what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked seriously.

"I was wondering when your birthday is?"

"The thirtieth of this month, why?"

"I was just thinking about maybe organizing a birthday party for you"

"Shot, how am I going to break the news to my mom that I won't be home for my birthday, or Christmas?"

"I have no idea, all I know is she's going to be angry"

"Angry, fuming sounds more appropriate!" Katy shook her head

"She sounds pretty hard to live with…"

"You have no idea!" Kat said "I grew up having to put up with her… you should have seen the fights we got into over the years"

"Were you older or younger…"

"Older, a good bit older, but she knew how to get on my last nerve and did so… often" Kat paused "I'm one of four children in my family, Bryan, Josh, and Sarah are my siblings… Bryan is the only one older than me"

"My mom, Sarah, is the baby of the family" Katy said

Kat walked away to check on Cruger, whom had yet to show his face and realized it was time for the rangers to go to bed

"Rangers, bed time!" she announced

"Aw… come on Kat, just a few more minutes… please?" Sydney pleaded

"No, Sydney, no more time, you know the regulations" Kat said

"Okay" Syd groaned "I'll try to sleep, but that might not happen"

"I'm going to get me some warm milk, that always helps me sleep" Z looked at Katy "Katy, do you want some while I'm here?"

"No, I love to but can't; I'm lactose intolerant, thanks anyway," Katy said gratefully

"Oh sorry"

"It's okay, I've lived with it all of my life, I'm used to it"

The rangers dispersed to their respective bedrooms and Kat stood admiring the directions when Cruger came into the rec. room

"The rangers did a fine job didn't they?" Cruger observed

"Yes, Doggie, they did," Kat smiled

"It's getting late, Kat, maybe you should try and get some sleep"

"Not yet, I want to admire their work a bit first" Kat sighed, her smile vanishing "Christmas, the one time of the year where I feel like the evil of the galaxy is thousands of light years away… not right at our doorstep."

"The one time when it feels safe to celebrate our friends and family… those we have left"

"You're right, but you don't have family left…"

"Think about it, Kat, what is a family?"

"A group of people that support each other," that was when it really dawned on Kat that this base, the rangers were nothing more or less than a family and couldn't help but laugh slightly

About half an hour later she and Cruger went to bed more than ready for a good night's sleep. Although, before Cruger went to bed he deposited one small gift box under the tree.

The next day came quickly and Jack was looking for Katy when he noticed her with a cup of tea in her hands.

"Good morning, merry Christmas" he said

"Merry Christmas" Katy smiled and stood

Syd looked at where Jack and Katy now stood

"Ahem, you two might want to check above your heads…" Syd giggled

"Oh you have got to be kidding!" Jack said as he realized they were standing under the mistletoe

"You two know what that means" Syd said as Sky looked up from his cup of coffee.

"Yes, we know" Katy smiled, but not for long… she _liked_ Jack a lot, but she didn't know if she could kiss him… not yet, but he didn't leave her a lot of time to think before giving her one small, gentle kiss. Sky nearly spilt his coffee in his lap, he was right, they did care about each other, more than he'd figured.

The kiss lingered longer than even the two of them figured it would and the other rangers couldn't believe their eyes.

'I wonder what Kat is going to think of this…' he thought as the kiss ended and Kat walked in the doors it was obviously time for the gifts among the rangers, as most of the rangers had gifts in other locations to open. He couldn't help but notice her smile as she saw how close Katy and Jack were… perhaps she didn't care, perhaps she liked that Katy had fallen in love despite her mother… Sky couldn't tell, but it wasn't the reaction he had expected.

Cruger followed Kat and they knew it was time.

"I'll talk to you later, okay?" Jack whispered in Katy's ear "I have a confession to make"

"Okay, I have one too" Katy replied

They all gathered around the tree and Kat's smile seemed relaxed and just simply hers as they waited.

"So who should hand out the presents this year?" Syd asked

"Someone who hasn't done it yet… Jack, will you?" Kat asked

"Sure, why not… sounds interesting." Jack smiled

Everyone chose seats around the tree as Jack took one in front of it.

"I'll give everyone their first and then go from there…" Jack paused "since Kat is our only one who has suffered an injury recently, I say she starts"

"No objections here" Z said

Everyone agreed and Jack went to find one of Kat's gifts as she would start the receiving of the presents. "Here, this one from Sydney" he handed it to Kat and she opened it. It was a sweater, cashmere no less.

Kat felt the light tan fabric in her hands, and it felt a little more luxurious than anything she would have ever bought for herself.

"Thank you, Syd"

"No problem"

Jack handed the others gifts then he came across the one that Kat had gotten for Cruger.

"Commander, this is yours, sir," he handed the box to Cruger who was shocked he'd get absolutely anything, he hadn't asked for anything that year, but then he saw the name on the tag and felt the sting of guilt, it was from Kat. If only she knew what he had done, she probably wouldn't have bought anything for him. He opened it and saw the watch he'd seen before and liked… she had got it for him.

Then Jack handed her the one form him that contained her repaired watch, but before that Z opened hers form Kat, a copy of the classic book "Pride and Prejudice" (a/n I could only think of two book titles"Pride and Prejudice"and "The Secret Garden", "Pride and Prejudice" sounded more like Z, so just work with me pls.).

"Whoa, I couldn't find this anywhere!" Z said "Where did you find it?"

Kat told her the name of the bookstore where she had to order that book they had it in their warehouse but not on the shelf. Then Kat was handed the gift from Cruger, she opened it and gasped…

_To Be Continued…

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